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Nov 28, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that proceedings under the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that peter halverson, the military fellow from the department of navy, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of consideration of the defense authorization bill. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that senator demint be added as a cosposh of the feinstein-collins amendment number 3018. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise to speak in support of the amendment offered by senator feinstein. the purpose of our amendment is to make clear that a united states citizen or a legal, per
mr. mccain: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that proceedings under the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that peter halverson, the military fellow from the department of navy, be granted floor...
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Nov 30, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: we now have 17 more amendments. we will be proceeding tomorrow morning and i want to tell my colleagues, we will be looking at other amendments to put in the package. the presiding officer: will the senate come to order. will senators please take their conversations out in the hallways. or back in the cloakroom. the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: we'll be looking at other amendments to put into a package that we can agree on. but i would also urge many of my colleagues who have clearly redundant and duplicative amendments to take a look at their amendments and withdraw them, if possible, so that we can dispense with remaining amendments as soon as possible tomorrow. i want to thank especially senator feinstein and senator graham and senator ayotte and those who were involved in this whole detainee issue. i think that there was a result that helped us to move forward enormously and i want to thank, obviously, the chairman for his unlimited patience which is something that i -- a quality which i do not have. the pr
mr. mccain: we now have 17 more amendments. we will be proceeding tomorrow morning and i want to tell my colleagues, we will be looking at other amendments to put in the package. the presiding officer: will the senate come to order. will senators please take their conversations out in the hallways. or back in the cloakroom. the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: we'll be looking at other amendments to put into a package that we can agree on. but i would also urge many of my colleagues who have...
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Nov 14, 2012
11/12
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[laughter] john mccain and joe lieberman. the reason that joe came back -- what a wonderful lady she is. >> have you finished your rounds? >> a have to do that because i do appreciate this opportunity. i came to the congress in 1972 as a young freshman congressman. i served during the reagan years of the house. i was a partisan warrior. the house tends to make you a partisan warrior. everyday you get up and try to figure out how you can beat the enemy. after a while, you say you have to change your attitude. i'm going to try to make this place work for the things i believe in. so i started working on that. what happened over the years, our biggest enemy is time. >> 20% of the members of the house leaving their office. >> they leave their families back home, they don't know each other, when i first came to washington as a staff member for a democrat, i went into the office. my job was to pour the cheap bourbon and light the cigars. they played gin rummy. i've never heard of that before. >> are you suggesting that nancy -- nanc
[laughter] john mccain and joe lieberman. the reason that joe came back -- what a wonderful lady she is. >> have you finished your rounds? >> a have to do that because i do appreciate this opportunity. i came to the congress in 1972 as a young freshman congressman. i served during the reagan years of the house. i was a partisan warrior. the house tends to make you a partisan warrior. everyday you get up and try to figure out how you can beat the enemy. after a while, you say you...
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Nov 14, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, i have a resolution at the desk and stk for its consideration -- and ask for its consideration. the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and appropriately referred. mr. mccain: thank you, mr. president. this resolution calls for an establishment of a select committee of the senate to make a thorough and complete investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding, and the response of the united states government to the september 11, 2012, terrorist attacks against the united states consolate and personnel in benghazi, libya, and to make recommendations to prevent similar attacks in the future. i send that to the desk in behalf of myself, senator graham of south carolina, and senator ayotte of new hampshire. mr. president, before i go into the need for this select committee -- and there clearly is a need because ther
mr. mccain: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, i have a resolution at the desk and stk for its consideration -- and ask for its consideration. the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and appropriately referred. mr. mccain: thank you, mr. president. this resolution calls for an establishment of a select committee of the senate to make a thorough and complete...
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Nov 29, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: mr. president, i just want to say all of these amendments have been cleared on our side. the presiding officer: is there okay? so ordered. the senator from michigan. mr. levin: i would ask unanimous consent that dr. jim malakowski, an air force fellow assigned to the office of senator conrad be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the debate on s. 3254. the presiding officer: is there objection? so ordered. mr. mccain: i move to reconsider the last vote. a senator: are we in a quorum call? a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire is recognized. ms. ayotte: thank you, mr. president. i want to talk this morning about an amendment that i had intended to offer but i'm not going to be offering today because there are -- there is an important portion of the house armed services committee that covers my concerns, and that was the amendment that i had drafted that is cosponsored by senators lieberman and collins, and i appreciate their support. it w
mr. mccain: mr. president, i just want to say all of these amendments have been cleared on our side. the presiding officer: is there okay? so ordered. the senator from michigan. mr. levin: i would ask unanimous consent that dr. jim malakowski, an air force fellow assigned to the office of senator conrad be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the debate on s. 3254. the presiding officer: is there objection? so ordered. mr. mccain: i move to reconsider the last vote. a senator: are we...
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Nov 14, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: mr. president, i would like to express my appreciation for senator lieberman and senator collins' hard work on this. we have had some disagreements. i still believe that if we could have, say, five amendments that could be voted on and debated, i think we could move forward with this bill. i really believe that. and i would like to see if possibly even after -- right after this vote if we could reach some agreement between the leaders and ourselves that we could say that there would be five pending amendments and perhaps we could go ahead and debate and vote on those. i, again, think we have some very significant differences, but i -- the fact that the chairman and the two cochair -- whatever the hell they call themselves -- have worked incredibly hard on this issue, and they deserve debate, and i hope that they would understand that we are seeking, like, five amendments. mr. lieberman: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that just in the remaining time, i really appreciate what my fri
mr. mccain: mr. president, i would like to express my appreciation for senator lieberman and senator collins' hard work on this. we have had some disagreements. i still believe that if we could have, say, five amendments that could be voted on and debated, i think we could move forward with this bill. i really believe that. and i would like to see if possibly even after -- right after this vote if we could reach some agreement between the leaders and ourselves that we could say that there would...
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Nov 27, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: they go on to say -- here's what they wrote, the former attorney general. i've been blessed to live and know many attorneys general but i think all of us on both sides of the aisle would agree that dick thornburgh ranks up there in the top rank. they write concerning the issue of home schooling, -- quote -- "nothing in this treaty prevents parents from home schooling or making decisions for their children. the treaty --this treaty embraces idea, the a.d.a., and all of the disability nondiscrimination legislation that has made the united states the leader on disability rights. the specific provisions on women and children state that women and children with disabilities cannot be the victims of illegal discrimination as in the case under u.s. law. furthermore, the crppedz recognizes and protects the important role of the family and specifically protects children from being separated from their parents on the basis of a disability. we take a back seat to no one in our defense of the rights of parents to raise their children or in our support for our federalist
mr. mccain: they go on to say -- here's what they wrote, the former attorney general. i've been blessed to live and know many attorneys general but i think all of us on both sides of the aisle would agree that dick thornburgh ranks up there in the top rank. they write concerning the issue of home schooling, -- quote -- "nothing in this treaty prevents parents from home schooling or making decisions for their children. the treaty --this treaty embraces idea, the a.d.a., and all of the...
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Nov 28, 2012
11/12
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and i wonder if senator mccain might have a comment on that. mr. mccain: can i just say i thank my dear and old friend from michigan. i was recollecting that he and i have now worked together for over a quarter of a century. but far more important than that this legislation and how we handle it, i say to all my colleagues, can be a model for how this body should do business. take up a piece of legislation, have amendments and debate, and move forward. and if that requires long hours and even occasionally a friday or even more, then i think our colleagues should be prepared to do that. we are not sent here for a three-day work week. we're sent here to do the people's business. i'm not proud, madam president -- and i won't point anybody's fingers at -- i won't point fingers at anybody, but it was judged by historians, the last session of congress, as the least productive since 1947. now, maybe senator levin and i were around in 1947 but we don't remember exactly what happened in those days. but the fact is that when we are looking at basically contin
and i wonder if senator mccain might have a comment on that. mr. mccain: can i just say i thank my dear and old friend from michigan. i was recollecting that he and i have now worked together for over a quarter of a century. but far more important than that this legislation and how we handle it, i say to all my colleagues, can be a model for how this body should do business. take up a piece of legislation, have amendments and debate, and move forward. and if that requires long hours and even...
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Nov 27, 2012
11/12
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mr. lugar: i join the chairman in thanking john mccain for his testimony, his courage, his eloquence, his mention of those on our side of the aisle historically who have fought for the disabled. that's a very important fact today, and his presence, his strength, and determination were very inspiring. we appreciate so much his testimony. mr. kerry: mr. president, i suggest -- the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: i suggest the absence of a quorum and ask that time be charge against both sides. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: senator from illinois, the assistant leader. mr. durbin: i ask that the quorum call be suspended. officer without objection. mr. durbin: we are in the process of considering the ratification of the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. the united states has led the world in creating the legal framework building an infrastructure and designing
mr. lugar: i join the chairman in thanking john mccain for his testimony, his courage, his eloquence, his mention of those on our side of the aisle historically who have fought for the disabled. that's a very important fact today, and his presence, his strength, and determination were very inspiring. we appreciate so much his testimony. mr. kerry: mr. president, i suggest -- the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: i suggest the absence of a quorum and ask that time be...
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Nov 26, 2012
11/12
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mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: as most americans know by now, the next few weeks are clinton cally important in the life of our nation. unless -- are critically important in the life of our nation. unless the president leads and congress acts, a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts could go into effect that would have a devastating effect on our national defense and on an already painfully slow economy. what's more, the nation's finances are teetering on the edge and threatening even greater hardship for literally millions unless we bring federal spending into balance. the question is what are we going to do about all this? how do we face up to fiscal irresponsibility and the can kicking that got us here and finally to what's right for the country. well, i don't think it's a secret that for our part, republicans have shown a clear willingness to make tough choices in order to find the solution to the trillion-dollar deficits of the last four years. we have been open to revenue by closing loopholes
mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: as most americans know by now, the next few weeks are clinton cally important in the life of our nation. unless -- are critically important in the life of our nation. unless the president leads and congress acts, a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts could go into effect that would have a devastating effect on our national defense and on an already painfully slow economy. what's more, the nation's...
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Nov 30, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: mr. president, i hope our colleagues' staffs who are observing are -- our deliberations here would think seriously about their amendments and how they can be consolidated, whether they are really need to be considered or not. we are working through large numbers of amendments. we will be probably revealing a finite list, and we hope that we can satisfy all members' concerns. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: i ask the quorum call be dispensed with and that i be recognized as if in morning business to offer a tribute. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: mr. president, i'd like to take a moment to honor a member of my staff who's not retiring but through his ailment can no longer come and work on the hill. this gentleman's name is michael schwartz, he's been my chief of staff for almost 15 ye
mr. mccain: mr. president, i hope our colleagues' staffs who are observing are -- our deliberations here would think seriously about their amendments and how they can be consolidated, whether they are really need to be considered or not. we are working through large numbers of amendments. we will be probably revealing a finite list, and we hope that we can satisfy all members' concerns. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll....
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Nov 30, 2012
11/12
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mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: this amendment which was unanimously approved by the committee as a provision and it would review the plan to reduce civilian and contractual personnel by 5%. right now the president's budget request, not counting sequester, would reduce military personnel by 123,900 men and women serving in the military, or 5.5% over five years. since 2001, the civilian personnel and department of defense has increased by 100,000, 16% increase, and a 37% increase in civilian pay costs. the department of defense continues to be top-heavy with headquarters. the office of the secretary will grow by 25% from 2001 to 2017. we all know the department of defense is being downsized so there has to be obviously a commensurate reduction in civilians, which is actually less than what is contemplated in the military. this was unanimously reported, and i have had conversations with the secretary of defense who agrees that we need to reduce th
mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: this amendment which was unanimously approved by the committee as a provision and it would review the plan to reduce civilian and contractual personnel by 5%. right now the president's budget request, not counting sequester, would reduce military personnel by 123,900 men and women serving in the military, or 5.5% over five years. since 2001, the civilian personnel and department of defense has increased by...
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Nov 15, 2012
11/12
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i have agreed to do it, as i was requested to do by both senator levin and senator mccain. so i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the presiding officer: the nuclear from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: i rise to celebrate the people of new jersey, many of whom lost everything in superstorm sandy but who came through one of the most devastating storms in our state's history, battered but not broken. the storm struck new jersey with extraordinary force. it was the entry point of superstorm sandy, and the surge came quickly, destroying whole communities, taking homes from their foundations, changing the topography of the coastline, devastating some of the most densely populated communities in the country. taking lives and taking property. leaving new jerseyans without power but not powerless. without the personal supposes accumulated over -- possessions accumulated over a lifetime but with their families and memories intact, memories that a
i have agreed to do it, as i was requested to do by both senator levin and senator mccain. so i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the presiding officer: the nuclear from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: i rise to celebrate the people of new jersey, many of whom lost everything in superstorm sandy but who came through one of the most devastating storms in our...